Scouting the Clippers

Record: 39-17 overall, 21-5 at home (third in West standings, 4.5 games behind first-place Spurs)

Offensive rating: 106.1 points per 100 possessions, 7th

Defensive rating: 99.7 points per 100 possessions, t7th

Pace: 94.1 possessions per game, 15th

Margin of victory: 6.75, 3rd

Strength of schedule: 20th

Last 10: 6-4

Previous meetings: The Clippers won 106-84 in Los Angeles on Nov. 7, won 92-87 in San Antonio on Nov. 19

The rundown

Even with doubts about their playoff experience and head coach Vinnie Del Negro’s acumen, this much is clear – these aren’t the Clippers you grew up with. Indeed, these aren’t the Clippers anyone grew up with.

Despite having played 10 games without offensive mastermind Chris Paul, they’re on pace to obliterate the franchise record of 49 victories in a season (set in 1974-75 as the Buffalo Braves). It’s a modest total that says almost as much about their woeful history as how good these Clippers are. But you can be certain the Spurs won’t be taking them lightly after they won the first two games of the season.

Perhaps most surprising about these Clippers is how good they’ve been defensively. Not quite elite, mind you, and not as good as the Spurs, who rank third in defensive efficiency. Led by ballhawks Paul and Eric Bledsoe, the Clippers can muddle up games like no other team. Such was the case in the initial meeting, when they converted 20 Spurs turnovers into 23 points. They Clippers followed that up by out-grinding the Spurs in the fourth quarter for an impressive road victory.

The Clippers had been neck-and-neck with the Spurs and Oklahoma City atop the standings before a nagging knee injury forced Paul to the sideline. While that knocked them off the pace, they’ve won four straight by an average of more than 16 points since his return, ample proof that as long as Paul is in the lineup and healthy, they can beat anyone.

Injury report

None listed

What to watch

* With Tony Parker enjoying a banner season, his matchup with Paul pits the two best point guards in the world. Their duel was a dud in the playoffs with Paul ailing. But they’ve both been brilliant this season, ranking in the top six in Player Efficiency Rating and the top five in win shares.

* The Clippers are one of the few teams who can boast superior depth the Spurs. That’s according to the efficiency differential formula employed at Hoops Stats.com, which rates them with the No. 1 unit in the league at out-producing their opponents. They average 40.1 points off the bench, 1.5 more than the Spurs.

* It’s only been seven games, but veteran guard Chauncey Billups has played well (11 ppg, 45.7 percent on 3s) in seven games since returning from offseason Achilles surgery. The Clippers are experimenting with him next to Paul, during which they’ve outscored opponents by nearly 16 points in 19 minutes per game.